Thick 4H-SiC Epitaxial Growth and Defect Reduction for Very High Voltage Bipolar Devices

The reduction of extended and point defects, including 8H in-grown stacking faults, basal plane dislocations (BPDs), and Z(1/2) center, in 4H-SiC epitaxial layers was investigated. In the epitaxial growth process, a high density of 8H stacking faults was evaluated in the epilayer grown under a relatively high partial pressure of SiH4. By decreasing the SiH4 partial pressure or adding HCl to the conventional gas system (H-2+SiH4+C3H8), the 8H stacking fault density was considerably reduced. By using 4 degrees off-cut 4H-SiC substrates instead of an 8 degrees off-cut one, an extremely low BPD density in the epilayer was achieved. No deep levels other than Z(1/2) and EH6/7 centers were detected in the upper half of the bandgap for epilayers grown with the addition of HCl. The Z(1/2) center concentration was reduced to <1 x 10(12) cm(-3) by tuning the growth parameters, and further reduced by the post-growth processes. (C) 2013 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.